


(a pocket full of reasons) why you’re here tonight

by soulgraves



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M, s2 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 21:26:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1914429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulgraves/pseuds/soulgraves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S2 AU. Sam and Blaine connect at the Lonely Hearts Club Valentine's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(a pocket full of reasons) why you’re here tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Set over the course of 2x12 through 2x14(ish).

Santana’s been smiling at him all night, and Sam’s both curious and terrified of what that means, so he stays at his own table and eats enough pasta that he’ll have to run twice his usual distance in the morning to make up for it. 

He’s trying to decide whether or not to bail before Rachel spots him and wants to talk about Quinn and Finn and mono and the thing he’s _not thinking about_ like she’s been doing all day, when someone’s arm swings a little too close to his water glass, and Sam doesn’t quite reach out in time to stop it spilling over the sleeve of his sweater. 

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, dude,” Sam tells him - _Blaine_ , the kid Kurt’s dating or obsessed with or something - reaching for a handful of napkins to wipe up the spillage. “S’just water.”

“Still, I’m such a klutz.” He grabs some napkins of his own and finishes mopping up whilst Sam pulls his damp hoodie over his head and drops it on the back of his chair. “Just another stupid thing to add to this stupid day.”

“Your Valentine’s sucked too, huh?” Sam asks, because it’s a relief to hear that not everyone’s happy and in love while he hangs out solo eating too many carbs. Which is actually really sad.

“I serenaded a guy I hardly know at the GAP, humiliated myself, and then got brutally rejected just to top the whole experience off,” Blaine says, dropping into the seat opposite Sam and tugging at the cuff of his blazer. “If Kurt hadn’t dragged me here I’d probably be at home trying to drown myself in the bathtub.”

“Wow,” Sam says, eyes wide. “That’s, uh--”

“Mortifying? Yeah, I know.” Blaine keeps looking down for a moment longer and then seems to shake it off, offering Sam a smile. “So, why are you flying solo tonight?”

“My girlfriend has mono,” Sam says, because it’s easier than explaining all the other niggling things at the back of his mind.

Blaine winces sympathetically, throwing a wave to a couple of Warblers who are headed out before turning his attention back to Sam. “I like your shirt,” he says, gesturing at Sam’s chest.

“You watch Doctor Who?” Sam asks, surprised, and Blaine shrugs.

“If it’s geeky, I probably love it,” he says, and Sam laughs, feeling himself relax in a way he hadn’t realized he needed to. He’s spent so much of the night caught up in his own head that it’s nice to fall back into his comfort zone, and Blaine seems more than happy to leave his friends to mingle and stick around to chat about comics and movies and sci-fi and a ton of other stuff that no one else he knows seems to get. 

“Thanks, dude,” Sam says, when he finally thinks to check the time and has to rush to make curfew. “This was way better than wallowing in self-pity.” 

Blaine laughs, loud and honest. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says, and Sam grins just to make sure he knows it really is.

  
  
**~**   
  


“Justin Bieber,” Blaine says, and Sam’s pretty impressed he didn’t choke on his coffee. “ _Really?_ ”

“The Biebs is awesome,” Sam says, because it’s true and because Blaine mostly just looks surprised and not like Sam’s an idiot, which is about fifty steps up from the way Finn’s been acting this week.

They’re hanging out by accident - football practice ran late enough that Sam was willing to shell out the ridiculous prices for an iced juice, and it turns out that Blaine’s just a caffeine addict - which could easily become a pattern. 

“You are not what anyone ever expects, are you Sam Evans?” Blaine says, eyes glinting, and Sam feels himself blushing in reply.

“Loads of people love him,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck and wondering why he feels so awkward _now_ when he’s spent most of this week shamelessly dancing around in a lavender hoodie.

“Katy Perry,” Blaine says, after a bit. “She’s my Justin Bieber.”

“Yeah?” Sam says, and he doesn’t try to fight his grin. Blaine hums into his coffee cup and it’s like they’re sharing a secret that everyone already knows but matters anyway. 

“Hey, give me your phone,” Sam says later, after they finish debating the merits of country-pop fusions, his hands making grabby motions in the direction of Blaine’s blazer.

“Okay?” Blaine says, confused, and Sam programmes in his number as soon as he hands it over, sending himself a text and laughing at Blaine’s face as he realizes what he’s doing.

“Now we can hang out _on purpose_ ,” Sam says, eyes wide, and Blaine grins and doesn’t look at Sam like he’s weird.

  
  
**~**   
  


“I broke up with Quinn,” Sam says, as soon as the dial tone stops.

“Sam?” Blaine asks. “Wait, what? Hang on, just give me a second.” There’s the sound of footsteps and then a door closing, and Sam realizes that he actually has no idea what Blaine’s schedule is like. He could have been in class for all Sam knows. “Okay, say that again.”

“I broke up with Quinn,” he repeats. “She cheated on me with Finn, which I sort of already knew, but then Santana confirmed it so I couldn’t just keep my head in the sand anymore, you know?”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says, and he sounds like he really means it. “Are you okay?”

Sam thinks about it for a moment. “Surprisingly, yeah,” he says, eventually. “I mean, I tried a ton of stuff to keep her attention, but now it’s over, I’m-- I mean, I’m sad but I’m not devastated or anything.”

“That’s good,” Blaine says, and Sam wonders where he is right now, if he’s in an empty classroom or sat on his bed or outside somewhere. “I mean, it’s awful, but it also probably means that she wasn’t the one for you.”

“Yeah, I know. But I don’t think Santana is either.”

“Santana?” Blaine says, sounding confused, and Sam gets that because he’s still pretty confused himself.

“I think I’m dating her now? I mean, I didn’t really understand what was happening but yeah.”

“That’s--” Blaine says. “I mean, wow. When Kurt said McKinley was drama-central, he wasn’t kidding.”

Sam sighs, and is suddenly really grateful to have someone outside of this whole mess to talk to. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Just be careful, okay?” Blaine says, and Sam’s really glad there’s a phone line and a good amount of miles between them because he doesn’t know how to explain the blush that floods over his skin.

“I’ll try,” he says instead, hoping his voice doesn’t sound as high to Blaine as it does to his own ears. “Thanks, dude.”

“For what?” Blaine asks, amused, and Sam grins.

“Just, you know.” Sam says. “For being awesome.”

Blaine makes a weird noise and Sam laughs until it hurts to breathe.

  
  
**~**   
  


“Dude,” Sam says, “ _dude_ , you just made out with Rachel Berry.”

Blaine’s hair’s all rumpled and his eyes are glassy, and Sam sort of thinks he looks like he just got up to the things that typically come _after_ making out, except that’s not appropriate so he shakes his head and focuses on refilling his cup.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Blaine says, and it’s possible that he’s a bit hysterical right now. Which is hilarious, but also Sam doesn’t like that Blaine seems weird. “I _made out with Rachel Berry_ , oh my god.” 

“It was just spin the bottle, B, it’s cool, I kissed, like, most people in that room,” Sam says, because it’s important Blaine doesn’t take these things too seriously, otherwise the rest of high school and college are going to be one giant angst-fest for him.

“Right,” Blaine says, blinking. “Right. No, yeah, exactly. S’just spin the bottle.”

“Unless you wanna make out with her some more,” Sam says, shrugging, because each to their own. “I mean, that’s cool too.”

“I’m _gay_ ,” Blaine says, and Sam’s not sure if he’s trying to remind Sam or himself.

“Well, _yeah_ ,” Sam says, “but that’s just-- it’s just a label, right? It’s not a _law_. Only you know what’s going on in your head.”

“Right,” Blaine says, and he’s staring at Sam now, eyes a little more focused, and Sam wonders what exactly he’s looking for. “Not a law.”

Sam feels a bit awkward, the alcohol not doing much to settle the buzzing under his skin, and he thinks that maybe there’s something specific he’s supposed to say here, but all his thoughts keep floating away right as they settle on his tongue.

“You gonna go for it?” he asks, instead, the only thought he can grasp, and Blaine bites his bottom lip until it’s red and shakes his head.

“No,” he says, eventually. “I think I’m good. But-- you’re right about labels.”

Sam grins and reaches for another bottle of the gross pink stuff Rachel’s been pawning off on them all night, shoving it into Blaine’s hands and laughing at his grimace.

“Come on, pilgrim,” he says, and his John Wayne impersonation is _epic_ , even if he does say so himself. “Drink up.”

“I hate you,” Blaine says, twisting off the cap, which is bold-faced _lie_ and they both know it.

  
  
**~**   
  


“So, I’m pretty sure Santana’s in love with Brittany,” Sam says when Blaine drops down at the table he’s been saving for them.

“You’re not very good at just saying hello, are you?” Blaine says, amused, and Sam rolls his eyes and signals for the waitress to let her know they’re ready to order.

“Not the point, dude,” he says, and Blaine shakes his head and reaches for a menu because he’s not a Lima kid and doesn’t have it saved to memory. “The _point_ is that my sort-of girlfriend is into another girl and I’m fairly sure I’ve been dumped.”

“Okay,” Blaine says, filling both their water glasses once the waitress has left. “I mean, that sucks, but are you okay with it? The Santana and Brittany thing, I mean?”

“Sure,” Sam says, shrugging. “I mean good for them. Brittany’s, like, the only person Santana’s actually nice to, so that’s cool. I don’t know if they’re dating, though. I think Britt’s still with Artie.”

Blaine hums and chews on a breadstick, looking thoughtful. “I know that she obviously didn’t go about it the right way,” he says after a while, “but that’s good for Santana. That she’s coming to terms with her feelings, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Sam agrees. “And it’s not like I was dating her because I was super into her, either, so it was always going to be kind of a train wreck. It’s like, I basically went over to the Dark Side for a while there; I need to get my Jedi mojo back.”

“God, you’re great,” Blaine sighs, and Sam can physically see the blush spread across Blaine’s cheeks and down his neck. “I mean--”

It’s sort of one of those light bulb moments that isn’t really a light bulb moment at all, because Sam kind of already knew this, knew that the way Blaine smiled at him was something special and not something he doled out to everyone. And, if he’s being honest with himself, he knows that it’s not entirely one-sided, he just hasn’t wanted to think about it because they’re totally bros now and because he was dating Quinn and then Santana.

Which isn’t the case anymore. Well, they’re still _bros_ , but--

“It’s cool, dude,” Sam says, smiling his own ‘Blaine only’ smile that’s been a pretty regular feature as of late, “I am pretty great, let’s be real.”

Blaine laughs, still flushed pink, and says: “God, Sam, where did you even _come from?_ You just show up on the most embarrassing day of my life and suddenly everything’s okay, _better_ than okay, and I just-- I really, really like you, and I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Well,” Sam says, feeling happiness brimming up and over and tumbling between them. “Right now you eat some breadsticks and we talk about the new _Justice League_ comic, and we’ll worry about the rest of it later, okay?”

“Okay,” Blaine says, ducking his head and looking up at Sam through his eyelashes, suddenly shy. “Okay. I can do that.”

  
  
**~**   
  


Later, Blaine drops him off home so he doesn’t have to take the bus, and Sam says, “Just for the record, I really, really like you, too,” because it’s super important Blaine gets that part.

“Yeah?” Blaine says, and it might be grossly sappy to say that his smile lights up the car, but Sam’s way beyond caring at this point.

“Yeah,” he says instead, and leans over just enough that Blaine has the chance to change his mind. 

He doesn’t; instead he just laughs and closes the distance between them, and Sam wonders if it’ll always be this easy.

He hopes so, and even if it’s not, he figures as long as they keep laughing, they’ll be okay.


End file.
